My grand father worked in a mill. I assume
that he was around 60 years old when I remembered him. He was my idol in my
childhood since I grew up away from my parents. My father got a job in a remote area and left me with my grand parents
because he didn’t want to change my school. My two younger sisters went with them.
So I was left at my grand parents’ home and they looked after me as best as
they could though they didn’t understand my loneliness caused by the absence of
my parents. To give justice to their kindness I have to say that they tried to
keep me happy and occupied.
My grandfather was respected among his
peers because he was efficient, helpful and very honest in his
work. But it was tricky to work as a machine operator since even a slight mistake
would cause you lose one of your hands or maim you for the rest of your life.
So the work needed the highest scale of concentration & I have seen people
who became disabled for the rest of their lives due to lack of concentration.
Since my grand father was older than
many of the mill workers they came to him for any trouble. But the boycotts and
strikes were never heard of in my grand father’s time.
After finishing work my
grand father would come home and after having a hot cup of tea from grand mother
he gets ready for his next important task, prawn fishing. Fishing was part of my
grand father’s life. He would fry thinly sliced coconuts and some other edible
ingredients together and make fragrant balls out of them to entice prawns and
lobsters in the river.
Then we wait. And we wait. We
wait for two or three hours.
Then, when it is dark, my grand father takes the
fishing net and I take the reed bag to hold the catch. He goes first, and
I follow him with the hurricane lamp. At the river bank he removes his sarong and wades into the water in
his loin cloth. I look around, as I am scared to stand alone in
the river bank. The shadows move, reminding me the monsters of the childhood
dreams.
Once in the water grandfather throws the net, and it sinks into the shallow river bed, creating ripples in the water. Frogs croak continuously, and my ears are brimmed with sounds around me. Then, grand father brings the net to the river bank and let the contents fall onto the uneven surface of the river bank. At once, my nose is filled with the scent of repulsive yet fresh mud. I move the mud with my fingers looking for the glistening eyes of the prawns. I am very happy to see them and put them into the bag. Grand father goes into the water again for another netful of prawns.
Once in the water grandfather throws the net, and it sinks into the shallow river bed, creating ripples in the water. Frogs croak continuously, and my ears are brimmed with sounds around me. Then, grand father brings the net to the river bank and let the contents fall onto the uneven surface of the river bank. At once, my nose is filled with the scent of repulsive yet fresh mud. I move the mud with my fingers looking for the glistening eyes of the prawns. I am very happy to see them and put them into the bag. Grand father goes into the water again for another netful of prawns.
Sometimes, we are rewarded
with a treasure. Grand father is able to catch a big lobster who tries to slip
away from the strong grasp of his fingers. Its green and orange tentacles are a
treat to the eye and I am overjoyed when I remember its delicious flesh which would be saved just for me at dinner. Its lengthy legs are twitching to crush any
thing which goes between them. I am very cautious and handle it with care.
Now, it’s very dark. I
can’t see even the silhouette of the grand father but I hear his activities in
the river. His throwing of the net, his wait, his diving to the shallow bottom
of the river to collect the net and coming to the river bank. He wades the
river shoulder deep, throws the net tying one end to his waist. It sinks
to the shallow bottom making a plopping sound. Grand father waits for a few
minutes before he grabs the net alive with prawns. Meanwhile I direct dim light of the lamp at the slightest sound made by trillions of nocturnal creatures around me.
The marsh is alive with the sounds of night. The unending music of frogs is
mixed with owls and other numerous undecipherable sounds make me frightened as
they come alive in my imaginary mind.
And then; the pale moon throws her glow over
the river bank above the coconut grove and let her beams dance on the
river giving me a glimpse of my grand father. He is coming again with his catch
and I anticipate another batch of prawns. I never cease to wonder the miracles of
nature of having created millions of different species and to let them live in
one planet making my planet a suitable place for their sustenance.
Grand father loosens the
net and drops its contents to the rough floor of the river bank. I wait breathlessly
to see the red beady eyes of the prawns glimmer, making it easy to identify
them in the dark. I quickly move the mud with my bare fingers which I long to
do in expeditions like this and collect the little creatures for my spicy, hot
dinner and inhales again the repulsive
yet tangy and fresh mud in the process.
At last, we are done. Grand
father takes the lead and I follow clutching the handle of the reed bag tightly
in my left fist not to let out the slithery creatures in it. He warns me to tread cautiously on the floor which is covered with dry leaves, sticks, cow dung and
what not .Danger lurks in the disguise of snakes, centipedes and scorpions on
the footpath we walk. Because it is their hour and we are the trespassers in
their domain.
It’s around 8.00 p.m. Grand mother is waiting for us. She has already prepared the spices and coconut
milk. The lobsters and prawns are taken out from the bag, cleaned and washed.
She kindles the fire and cooks them on low heat on the wood fire to absorb the
taste of the prawns to the red hot curry prepared with dried chili powder and
other spices and coconut milk. A delicious and mouth watering smell wafts from the pot and I
still yearn for grand ma’s delicious curry which makes me nostalgic because
they are a few of the sweet memories I carry from my childhood.
When the cooking is over, grand mother dishes out the steamed rice and the prawn curry, a red
hot gravy; red prawns floating in it. It is a very delicious meal and I have always asked for a second helping .Grand
mother with a twinkle in her eye gives me the biggest prawns and after a hearty
meal I sleep on the reed mat, satisfied and with a full stomach. I am content
with my journey to the river which has given me many ideas to ponder over as sleep
hugs me and whispers to my ears.
(I have to say a 'big thank you' to our art teacher, Mrs. Wasantha Fernando for her beautiful sketch.)
(I have to say a 'big thank you' to our art teacher, Mrs. Wasantha Fernando for her beautiful sketch.)
You seem to have had a lovely time their ma'am. It must be fascinating to live close to a river...
ReplyDeleteYes. Though I can't swim as a result of a terrifying experience I had in my childhood years the river and its surroundings, enriched me with so many happy memories to be indulged in my later years. The tranquility and the calm it brought to my lonely soul is indescribable.
ReplyDeleteGreat experience, I taught you are blogger account only. But believe me after seeing your writings, I wonder, why didn't see you before. I like reading in English medium. Its just my start in your blog. Thanks for being.
ReplyDeletesorry for being late to answer. I am happy if you have enjoyed my story. Thanks for visiting.
DeleteWow, this is a nice piece of literature. Blog posts with Sri Lankan content, written in English is rare. Keep it up. Sorry I'm late.
ReplyDeletehenryblogwalker (මට හිතෙන හැටි) the Dude (HeyDude) and මගේ ඩෙනිම My Blue Jeans
The post seems lonely without your reply. Thank u for visiting with a busy schedule. I am very happy to hear your comment as I know that have enjoyed it really and I truly want you to show me any shortcomings in my posts.
Deletelovely story. i always like to hear or read this kind of stories. i can see now your blog is getting popular but anyhow keep it up
ReplyDeleteThank u for the comment. I like to hear that u enjoy this post. It seems that this post has something to attract u all.
DeleteNice Post! Good Luck! Keep Writing :)
ReplyDeleteThank u.
ReplyDelete